Stručni rad
https://doi.org/10.21857/m3v76t678y
The Italians in the Požega-Slavonia County Between Assimilation and Preserving Identity
Dragutin Babić
; Institut za migracije i narodnosti, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
This paper analyses the results of an empirical research conducted in 2016 in villages surrounding Pakrac and Lipik, inhabited by the Italians. The majority of the persons interviewed inhabit the village of Ploštine. Eight respondents (three male and five female) have been interviewed; the research method used was conducting qualitative semi-structured
interviews. The Italians in Croatia belong to the most numerous national minorities. The majority inhabit the County of Istria, followed by the Primorje-Gorski kotar County, while the third on the list among Croatian counties inhabited by the Italians is the Požega-Slavonia County. The Italians started settling in the villages surrounding Pakrac and Lipik towards the end of the 19th century, seeking employment and place to secure their own existence. Initially, they engaged in tree felling and producing coal, building bricks and agriculture. Though other occupations had gradually become forgotten, agriculture
has remained their main line of work up to the present. They are famous for the production of horsemeat salami, a gastronomic specialty for which the village of Ploštine is best known. The Italians are present in several other villages in this area as well: Kapetanovo
Polje, Donja Obrijež, Veliki Banovac, and Badljevina, where they are organised in associations, whereas students from this national community attend the C-model of education for national minorities. The conducted interviews included several questions; answers and
the interpretation thereof have been divided under two thematic units: Immigration, integration, everyday life and Assimilation, national identity, perspective. The questions included the settling of the Italians in the Western Slavonia; their occupations; problems related to
integration; organisation in the area of settling; links to the old country; activities related to the preservation of national identity; and issues regarding perspectives of this national community in the Požega-Slavonia County. According to the answers given in the interviews,
the Italians started settling in the villages surrounding Pakrac and Lipik towards the end of the 19th century; thanks to their specific occupations (producing coal, bricks), they tend to become integrated in the socio-economic structure of the area of settling relatively fast and with success. They have succeeded in preserving national identity, thanks to being well organised in the county; having good relations to the mother country; using the offered educational models for national minorities; and to communicative memory, via which the principal identity narrations are transferred to new generations. Despite these affirmative factors, the Italians, due to demographic problems and older community, have remained somewhat pessimistic regarding the issue of their perspective in the Požega-Slavonia County.
Ključne riječi
Italians; Western Slavonia; national identity; assimilation
Hrčak ID:
216196
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.12.2018.
Posjeta: 3.110 *